In transito da Roma, Italia
a Milano, Italia
Buongiorno amici miei,
Today is one of those travel days. A day full of anticipation that it will all go wrong. It rarely does mind you, there is just the dread hanging over your head that it could. However having a positive attitude really helps.
On December 15 in the planning stages tickets were purchased on Trenitalia. The train is the Frecciarossa 1000 train number 9630 which runs between Napoli and Milano. The fastest trains operated by Trenitalia are the Alta Velocità (AV) series, called, in descending order of speed – the Frecciarossa (Red Arrow), Frecciagente (Silver Arrow), and the Frecciabinca (White Arrow). There are four models in each of these trains – ETR 500, ETR 600, ETR 700 and ETR 1000. All feature air conditioning, which if you are here in the summer is important. These trains are Trenitalia’s flagship products.
The difference between the various combinations is speed and amenities. The Frecciarossa 1000’s have a café-bar, power sockets at all seats and free wi-fi. Their interiors are styled by Pininfarina. The 1000 has a faster acceleration than the 500 series. There are four classes of service – Executive, Business, Premium and Standard. There is also a business silenzio – a quite section of business. With these there are various fares. Some are changeable, some aren’t. Some may be refundable, some aren’t. You just need to look at what you want to so. For us, generally the standard class and base price is sufficient. The main difference is what to do with your luggage. More sharing and less space in the standard cars, but even with our six bags on this trip it wasn’t a problem.
One other minor option is seat selection. You can pay a little extra to choose your seat. Usually about €2. You will have an assigned seat, just which seat. We like the seats facing each other with the table in the middle so we can play cards. Windows are nice to look out of, so a window seat can be nice. Really it is your choice. Closer to the end of the car or in the middle?
Other types of trains you may see. Intercity trains connect to more cities than the Frecce trains. They are slower and make more stops. However, they are less expensive, and you get to see more of the countryside as you travel. They have first and second class cars. May or may not have air conditioning. Maybe new or very old. Seats are generally assigned when you purchase the ticket. There are about ninety InterCity (IC) connections reaching to more than two hundred stations.
You will also see EuroCity (EC) trains. Similar to the IC trains, however these trains operate across international boards. Depending on where you might be going, either in Italy or across Europe this could be an option. Again, there are first- and second-class cars. The generally have air conditioning and a dining car. Again slower than Frecce, and maybe in slower than IC.
Getting around to the larger cities, the high speed trains are usually the best choice. The high speed train between Napoli and Milano is four and a half to five and a half hours. The same InterCity train in almost nine hours. So look carefully when making a reservation to see how long the ride will be. Occasionally you will want to visit a smaller city.
You are in Firenze (Florence) and you want to visit Siena. You can rent a car, hire a car, take a bus or take a train. The train is a good option. However, this will be a regional train (Regionale). Now it may have the designation “R” for regionale or “RV” for regionale veloce (fast). On occasion you may hear or see IR (interregionale) or D (diretto) or E (Espresso). Ignore these, they don’t really indicate anything look at the travel time!
Regional trains are usually slower and older. The train tend to stop at every single station between larger cities. In the morning they may also serve as school buses and be filled with teenagers! It may also stop in the middle of nowhere to pick them up or drop them off, or at least it will seem like the middle of nowhere, but just out of sight will be a small village or their school.
Slower, older, school buses or not, the regional trains are fun. They are also often the least expensive and in many places the only game in town. One suggestion if you want to drive the countryside. Rent your car in a smaller town, not one of the major cities. Take a car out of town. Want to visit Tuscany by car? Take a train to Arezzo. There is a Hertz and Avis here. It will be less expensive and no city traffic.
The day began with breakfast at the hotel. Enough to last until dinner. Check out was at 11. The night before we arranged with the front desk for a cab at 11. At 10:30 the luggage was downstairs. The lobby is actually in the “basement” of the hotel. That is you enter from the street and walk down a series of steps to the lobby. Fortunately the staff carried the bags from the lobby level back up to the street level for us. That was a great help. Just before it had gone eleven the bags were at the street level when the cab pulled up outside. He simply pulled up outside the hotel, in true Italian style. For those who aren’t inthe know that means the middle of the street. In italy that generally also means in the middle of street which is just sufficiently wide enough to open the car doors.
Luggage loaded, in car and off to the main train station, Roma Termini. The route seemed a bit round about, but with the one way street and single approach to the station, it was probably the most direct. It wasn’t the 850 meters the walking route would have been. The issue was more the luggage the the distance, and that alone made the €7 trip worth it. It was still one hundred meters to actually get into the station.
Once in the station the object was find the announcement board to find out what track, binario. No problem. The train was clearly listed. It also was listed as being five minutes late. The clock had just gone 11:15 so there was another 25 minutes before it was scheduled to arrive. According to the Trenitalia app it should arrive and depart from binario 10. The only concern was the fact it was schedule to arrive at 11:40 and depart at 11:50. That only gave us ten minutes to get our bags on board – all six of them.
Watching the arriving train schedule a little more closely it is possible to see which platform it will arrive at, giving you a minute or two more to get there. Italy has installed “gates” to the trains now and it is necessary to scan your ticket to open the gate to get to the platform area. These were being installed in Firenze last time I was there, but there weren’t operational yet. It was therefore with a little trepidation that the gate was approached. However it was all for naught. Easy peasy.
Once through the gate we continued to watch the automated sign and listen to the announcements. The announcements are in both Italian and English, but the Italian is so fast to the untrained ear, and the English follows the Italian, it is difficult to hear what is going on. However this time to caught the arrival of 9630 on binario 10, and did so before it was posted and announced in English, so we got a few second advantage on the tourists. The Italians were already headed to binario 10.
So we did as well. Once on the correct binario you look for the signs as to which car will be where. Our seats are 12A & 13A are in car 5. Roughly in the middle of the car. We made our way to the proper place on the platform and watched the train pull in. As soon as the train stopped people began to crowd around the door. The doors opened and people began to exit. Almost immediately after the last person exited people began to board. We worked our way to the front of the line. Mary climbed on board and I handed her up our luggage. You get paranoid people are watching you and getting annoyed you are delaying them, but it is just that – your own paranoia.
Once on board we made our way to our seats. I stuffed the larger bag and two of the smaller ones in the spaces behind the seats, lifted the two smaller ones to the rack above the seats. There was just one large bag left which we put under the table between seats 12B & 13B hoping no one had the foresight to reserve those seats. Fortunately no one did.
Settling into the our seats for the three and a half – four hour rade to Milano Centrale. Out came the canasta cards and the game began. We played a game, I won, :>). It was finished before we got to the first and only stop in Bologna. Sleep overtook me and I was out for the next hour or so. Waking just before we pulled into Milano.
Since this was the final destination of this train there was no big hurry to exit. We left the car empty out before trying to retrieve the luggage and got ready to exit. It was the reverse this time, Mary going first to the platform with me handing down the bags. It was quick work but by the time we were done the next group was getting ready to board.
We made our way down the binario to the exit, through the station and out the front. The Excelsior Hotel Gallia is just outside and west of the station. We maneuvered the bags across the street to the entrance of the hotel and let the bellmen take over. Registering was quick and easy. Up to room 234. A few minutes later the bellman appeared with the bags.
We relaxed for a about a hour. It had just gone four when a text from IV came in. They had been shopping during the day, Grace “needed” new shoes, and Oliver was looking for something as well. There was one more “discount shop” to look at for new shoes, Vestistock on Via Bernardino Ramassri 11. It was just about a mile from the hotel so I said I would meet them there.
It was a nice walk. Milan is much more complex that the tourist areas, the upscale shopping areas like Montenapolene or Via Alessandro Manzoni and nightlife areas like Darsena (Naviglio). It is whole bunch of different venues. Each with its own vibe. The walk to Vestistock is located in the Zone Bueno Aires district. The central station district, where the Excelsior Hotel Gallia is, is mainly commercial and office space. Zona Buenos Aires is more of a middle-class neighborhoods. Corso Buenos Aires, the main thoroughfare is a middle class shopping area.
We met just outside Vestistock as it has just gone four-thirty. IV and Oliver went off to do their thing and Grace and I ventured into Vestistock. Shopping with Grace is a delight. She took off like a shot, hunting here and there, when she didn’t find what she was looking for she asked the sales assistant. Sorry we don’t carry shoes. Grace was done. Clean and efficient.
Corso Buenos Aires was in the right direction towards the hotel, so I suggested we walk down it and look for the shoes. Unfortunately, as we did so Grace announced they had already covered this area. So, we took a left and headed back to the hotel, empty handed.
It had just gone five when as Grace and I approached Milano Centrale. Grace wanted to stop at the McDonalds in the station for some French fries. So, we walked into the station and stopped at McDonalds. Fries, chicken nuggets and a coke later we headed to the hotel. IV and Oliver connected up with us at the hotel and we went into Nonna’s and mine room to chill for a while.
There was only so much chilling one can do in a 300 square foot room. The dinner reservations at Hostaria La Biata were for 7:15, but we left earlier and walked the couple blocks to the restaurant. We were early, not only for Italian dinner time, but also for our reservation. No matter they seated us right way. We ordered a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino and gamberi all Catalana (Catalan Shrimp).
The gamberi alla Catalana is a tasty dish, spicy isn’t quite the right word, which was served over a “salad” if shredded carrots, cumbers, bits of fresh sliced orange pieces, and other greens. The shrimp were excellent but the salad on which the shrimp were resting may have won the day. For a while now this has been my place for Cotoletta alla Milanese. It used to be Il Tavolino, but it got too touristy in recent years.
Oliver ordered Spaghetti alla Vongole veraci (spaghetti with large clams, although they weren’t that large). Mary ordered the Cotoletta alla Milanese which usually comes with French fried potatoes but I asked that they drop the potatoes and substitute risotto alla Milanese, which they were happy to do. If ordered the Ossobuco con risotto. Grace and I decided I would order the risotto alla Milanese and she would order the Cotoletta alla Milanese, and we would share.
The presentation was wonderful. Grace took two bits of the Cololetta and wanted to switch, so we did. If something doesn’t meet her standard she won’t do, eat or buy it. The cololetta was overcooked. The risotto was undercooked. Oliver’s spaghetti and clams were apparently done properly as was IV’s veal shank. Mind you that didn’t stop me nor Mary from eating all of the coloetta and risotto. Grace did stop> I wish I had that will power.
One of the best things about La Biata has always been the dolci (homemade desserts). They are presented at a side table as you walk in. They weren’t out yet when we walked in, but after we finished dinner they were. I walked over to the table and saw, cheesecake with berries, an apple torta, lemon torta, Tiramisù and chocolate cream filled profiteroles. The easiest thing to do was simply order one of each for the table. We had another bottle of wine, some lemoncello and IV had an espresso while we shared and enjoyed desserts.
After dinner we split company. IV, Grace and Oliver needed to go to the supermercato and pick up a few things for the villa. Mary and I walked back to the hotel, which was just a few blocks away. We got to our room, and I decided to have a cigar in the Maserati Cigar lounge in the hotel. Mary joined me, not in the cigar but she did have an Amaretto. We each enjoyed or vice and decided to call it a night.
A fun day. Ciao Enrico
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